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Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Recent Case Law

Cryptocurrency and blockchain within the legal space are no longer far reaching concepts, digital currency has evolved into a significant part the business landscape, while the laws around it continue to shift to regulate it. Below are some considerations and impacts that cryptocurrency is having on the legal, big data & law practice.

A recent ruling by the Third District Court of Appeal in Florida highlights how laws have been evolving around the treatment of cryptocurrencies, prominent blockchain/digital currency lawyers say. A Forida appellate court reversed a the court’s prior 2016 decision by finding that cryptocurrency is indeed a financial or monetary instrument under state law. Read more.

Is There a Trilemma Associated with Using Blockchain to Protect Trade Secrets?

In the quest for security, decentralization, and scalability, only two of the three requirements can be achieved simultaneously. Is the compromise on the third requirement something that a cautious company can live with? While Bitcoin has popularized the notion of the blockchain, the underlying architecture is versatile enough to be employed in a wide range of non-cryptocurrency-related applications, such as food tracing, bills of lading in the shipping industry, and secure mobile voting. Over the past two years, there have even been a handful of commentaries expressing mixed views on how blockchain technology could be applied to protecting a company’s most valuable trade secrets. Read More

Court Rules Bitcoin Qualifies as Money in Case of First Impression

The appellate court’s opinion could open the door for cracking down on unregulated Bitcoin trading. Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal Wednesday ruled Bitcoin qualifies as money in a case that turned on whether digital currency is driving financial crime. “Included in the definition of a payment instrument is ‘monetary value,’ which is defined as ‘a medium of exchange, whether or not redeemable in currency,'” the court wrote. “Similarly, Bitcoin and bitcoins function as a ‘medium of exchange.’ … Any assertion that ‘monetary value is synonymous with ‘currency’ overlooks the express language contained in Section 560.103(21),which states that monetary value is ‘a medium of exchange, whether or not redeemable in currency.’” Read More